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Backpacking for Beginners

Backpacking for Beginners - An Essential Guide to Backpacking Basics.

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Backpacking Basics - Info on Backpacking for Beginners. Tips and Advice when Backpacking and Hiking

It’s easy to learn what’s needed to have a fun, safe, and successful backpacking trip. Read on to learn more.

For tips and advice on backpacking and hiking gear, trails, and accessories: http://www.hikingandbackpacking.com

There are three steps to the basics of backpacking:

Step 1) Planning
  • When planning for a backpacking trip as a newbie backpacker, you will first need to decide if you are Backpacking in your Home State or traveling for far off adventures.
  • Once you know where you’re going, getting a quality Topographic Map and a Compass will be your next step.
  • Want to learn how to read a topographic map?
  • Whether you are hiking along a trail or primarily bush-whacking, a map and compass is a necessity.
  • Need to learn how to navigate using a map and compass?
  • If you’d like to get your hands on a more modern way to navigate, click here to explore all things GPS.

Step 2) Backpacking for Beginners Equipment Guide

  • Not sure what kind of equipment you’ll need? Backpacking for beginners and even the experts depends on the type of terrain, climate, and environment you will be traveling through.

    If you don’t plan on camping in the snow, check out 3 Season Tents and 20 + sleeping bags. If you do plan on doing some winter camping, take a look at 4 Season Tents and the Below 20 degree Sleeping Bags.
  • Backpacks are going to be a really personal choice.
    • Check out the My Favorites List, featuring my top choices, from lightweight backpacks to the backpacks with all the bells and whistles.
    • If you plan on doing a 3+ day trip, get a backpack with at least 5,000 cubic inches of space.
    • You might even be trying to decide between an internal frame, external frame, or even a frameless backpack?
    • Learn the tricks on how to pack a backpack for optimum comfort and stability.
    • Don’t forget to stop by my page listing Backpacks with the coolest features.
  • For a complete backpacking checklist, click here.

Step 3) Safety

  • Backpacking Safety is the most important, but frighteningly the most looked over aspect of backpacking. Let’s face it.

    Buying the gear and reading maps is way more fun than planning for emergencies and safety. But let’s get serious. If something goes wrong while you are out in the wilderness, you want to get out alive, right?

    • Wilderness First Aid can help prepare you for the potential of caring for your own or someone else’s injury while far from any hospitals.
    • Learn how to properly put together a First Aid Kit.
    • You might also want to get techie and consider an Emergency Personal Location Beacon or pbl, which will notify rescue teams of your location with the push of a button. This is my top backpacking for beginners recommendation!
    • Leave a traveling plan with a few trusted people and STICK to it!
    • A Wilderness Course can be the best backpacking for beginners way to learn everything you need to know about backpacking in the shortest amount of time. And you can find one almost anywhere! Some are even free!







Further Fantastic Reads

Find The Best GPS for Your Every Desire!

Best Backpacking Boots

Tents for Camping

Top 5 Backpacking / Hiking Tips Contest

Enter for a chance to win a $500 visa gift card? Would you like to go crazy buying up your favorite gear? Now you have the chance! Just enter to win!

It’s very easy to enter and takes hardly any time at all! Be sure you know the Terms and Conditions as well as the Rules for Entry.

You don’t have to be an expert, just tell us your best hiking or backpacking tips! What methods do you use on the trail? These tips can be about anything!

Share your best 5 tips for hiking and backpacking in a complete and creative way is a recipe to win!

Did you have special guidelines for hiking and camping with kids? Maybe you know a trick to keep them eating plenty?

Share your information to benefit others!

Perhaps you have extensive experience with blisters and over the years have developed a strategy to stay blister free no matter what?

These are the kinds of things we’re looking for! Share your tips and the story behind their discovery for your chance to win!

Here’s what you have to do. Fill out the following form and be sure to include a related picture. Each entry will be scored using points (100 total) on the following factors:

Entry MUST be 200 - 500 words or more. This is roughly two paragraphs.

Make sure you opt to enter your email address so we can contact you if you win!

After you click Click to Win or Submit Your Contest Entry, the next page will allow you to enter your email address. (Your email address is always safe and will NEVER be shared)

  • Use of Picture (40 points) – If you include a nice, well lit relating to your advice, you’ll get lots of points! (a second picture (or more!) would be nice too! *hint hint*)

    Only original / non-copied pictures please!

  • Quality and Organization of Entry (40 points) - This is important folks! Make sure that all the highlights of your tips and the story behind those tips are in an easy to understand format with correct grammar and spelling of words. Original writing only, do not copy! We will know if you have copied someone else's work!

  • Your Personal Flair (20 points) - This is the fun part! We want to see some creativity. Get descriptive. Don’t be shy. Give us your advice on anything about hiking or even backpacking for beginners and/or experts. Share something interesting! A good way to do this is to tell a story about each of your 5 tips.

  • Facebook & Twitter (BONUS 20 POINTS!!!) - Using the buttons at the bottom of this page, you can Share this contest on Facebook and Tweet about it on Twitter. 10 points for Facebook and 10 points for Twitter. We’ll keep track of your entries and award you up to 20 additional bonus points!

    The winner will be announced right here on February 15th 2012. Enter the contest as many times as you'd like by February 14th 2012 at 11:59pm.

    The more times you enter, the better chance you have of winning!


  • Your Top 5 Hiking and Backpacking Tips

    Do you have some great Backpacking and Hiking Tips? Share them!

    Enter Your Title

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